Nate-ForLiberty
06-14-2010, 10:28 AM
Prosecution says former Officer Johannes Mehserle, who is white, deliberately killed Oscar J. Grant III, who was black. The defense calls the death a tragic error.
A former transit police officer deliberately shot and killed an unarmed passenger on an Oakland subway platform while helping another officer who was mistreating a group of men suspected of fighting on a train, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
Johannes Mehserle, 28, is charged with murder in the New Year's Day 2009 shooting of Oscar J. Grant III, whose killing sparked outrage and violence in Oakland. The trial was moved to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom amid concern about the extensive media coverage of the killing in the Bay Area.
Alameda County Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Stein told jurors that the shooting followed an ugly confrontation in which one of Mehserle's fellow officers shouted a racial slur at Grant, who had been detained with his friends on the platform.
"The shooting death of Oscar Grant was the result of emotion taking over discipline," Stein said during opening statements in the trial. "It was the result of anger taking over judgment."
But defense attorney Michael L. Rains said Grant's death was a tragedy that occurred when Mehserle meant to reach for his Taser and grabbed his handgun by mistake.
Mehserle intended to use his Taser to stop Grant from resisting arrest, the attorney said. He blamed a lack of training, in part, for the error.
"This case chronicles the tragic, unintended death of a young man who shouldn't have died, who shouldn't have been shot," Rains told jurors.
Mehserle, who is white, fired a single round as he stood over Grant, who was black and was lying face-down on the subway platform. Grant, 22, was struck in the back and died hours later.
The racially tinged case has evoked parallels with the 1992 trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King. All four were acquitted, sparking riots in Los Angeles.
The shooting was captured on video by several passengers on the crowded train. Some of the footage was broadcast on television and the Internet, provoking angry protests at Grant's treatment. Mehserle, who had been on the force for less than two years, resigned from the department days after the shooting.
Murder charges are rarely filed against police officers in connection with an on-duty shooting, and legal experts say convictions of officers are difficult. The jury, which includes no blacks, is expected to hear testimony for two to four weeks.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/11/local/la-me-bart-shooting-20100611
YouTube - BART Police Shoot and Kill Oscar Grant WITH AUDIO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al4w7YKHfms)
A former transit police officer deliberately shot and killed an unarmed passenger on an Oakland subway platform while helping another officer who was mistreating a group of men suspected of fighting on a train, a prosecutor told jurors Thursday.
Johannes Mehserle, 28, is charged with murder in the New Year's Day 2009 shooting of Oscar J. Grant III, whose killing sparked outrage and violence in Oakland. The trial was moved to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom amid concern about the extensive media coverage of the killing in the Bay Area.
Alameda County Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Stein told jurors that the shooting followed an ugly confrontation in which one of Mehserle's fellow officers shouted a racial slur at Grant, who had been detained with his friends on the platform.
"The shooting death of Oscar Grant was the result of emotion taking over discipline," Stein said during opening statements in the trial. "It was the result of anger taking over judgment."
But defense attorney Michael L. Rains said Grant's death was a tragedy that occurred when Mehserle meant to reach for his Taser and grabbed his handgun by mistake.
Mehserle intended to use his Taser to stop Grant from resisting arrest, the attorney said. He blamed a lack of training, in part, for the error.
"This case chronicles the tragic, unintended death of a young man who shouldn't have died, who shouldn't have been shot," Rains told jurors.
Mehserle, who is white, fired a single round as he stood over Grant, who was black and was lying face-down on the subway platform. Grant, 22, was struck in the back and died hours later.
The racially tinged case has evoked parallels with the 1992 trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King. All four were acquitted, sparking riots in Los Angeles.
The shooting was captured on video by several passengers on the crowded train. Some of the footage was broadcast on television and the Internet, provoking angry protests at Grant's treatment. Mehserle, who had been on the force for less than two years, resigned from the department days after the shooting.
Murder charges are rarely filed against police officers in connection with an on-duty shooting, and legal experts say convictions of officers are difficult. The jury, which includes no blacks, is expected to hear testimony for two to four weeks.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/11/local/la-me-bart-shooting-20100611
YouTube - BART Police Shoot and Kill Oscar Grant WITH AUDIO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al4w7YKHfms)